GAYS VOW TO PRESS MARRIAGE FIGHT NATIONWIDE: Reuters

Gay rights advocates vowed on Tuesday to press for full marriage rights for same-sex couples across the nation even as conservatives campaigned to undo the legal gay unions that just began in Massachusetts. ...

Kevin Cathcart, executive director of gay rights group Lambda Legal, called the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts "an incredible breakthrough" but noted the state is only one of 50 in the nation.

"No one should have to go to another state or another country in order to get their marriage recognized," he said. "So we can't and we won't stop until we have equality in marriage nationwide."

Cathcart noted that courts in California, New Jersey, New York and Washington are considering lawsuits seeking same-sex marriage rights, and he predicted more state supreme court rulings similar to the landmark one by Massachusetts' highest court that ordered the state to begin marrying gay couples.

The Massachusetts ruling that allowed gay marriage said anything less would make gays second-class citizens.

"I don't think Massachusetts is going to be out there on its own for terribly long," he said.

Legal challenges are also expected to arise from same-sex couples who marry in Massachusetts and try to have their unions recognized in other states.

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